ABUJA — Physical cash held outside the formal banking system in Nigeria rose to ₦4.92 trillion in September 2026, marking a month-on-month increase of ₦48.73 billion from the ₦4.87 trillion recorded in August, according to official monetary statistics released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The latest figures represent a 1 percent month-on-month rise and an uptick from the ₦4.47 trillion recorded in September 2025. Despite the marginal increase, the current balance remains below the levels observed in early 2026, when currency outside commercial vaults repeatedly crossed the ₦5 trillion mark before tapering off in mid-year.
The rise in unbanked cash coincided with a broader expansion in the country’s money supply. Broad money ($M2$), which measures total liquid assets across the economy—including physical cash, demand deposits, savings, and foreign currency accounts—increased by ₦7.51 trillion, moving from ₦139.09 trillion in August to ₦146.6 trillion in September.
Similarly, narrow money ($M1$), comprising physical currency in circulation and highly liquid bank deposits, advanced from ₦43.11 trillion in August to ₦44.05 trillion at the end of September.
The liquidity growth across monetary aggregates follows the central bank’s recent shift in policy stance at its 307th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, where the benchmark Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) was reduced by 350 basis points to 23 percent.
Financial analysts note that while physical cash outside banks continues to fluctuate, the CBN’s ongoing target under the Nigeria Payment System Vision 2028 remains focused on reducing reliance on cash to under 40 percent of total currency in circulation by driving digital channels, agency banking, and electronic payment adoption across the country.
